Jeff Gustafson's Pattern, Baits & Gear

Canadian Jeff Gustafson ran a program that was more diverse than any other Top-5 finisher and came away with his best placement in his 4 seasons on Tour. He weighed in five fish that he'd looked at and produced other quality specimens on a wacky-rig, a jerkbait and a small swimbait. "The first 2 days were flat and calm and I mixed bed-fishing with some docks and some schooling fish," he said. "On Day 3 I did really on a jerkbait and (on day 4) I did really good on a little swimbait. "With the overcast sky and the wind (on the final 2 days), the outside stuff was a lot better for me." He made a critical decision on day 1 that paid off big-time. "I had a place about a mile from take-off with a huge school of spots, and it was a guaranteed limit," he said. "I also had another little stretch where I'd caught a couple of 3-pound largemouths in practice. I was planning to go to the spots first, but at the last minute I changed my mind and decided to go to the largemouth area. "On about my fifth cast, I caught that 6-14 that was the big fish of the first day. Whether you want to call it luck or whatever, I caught a break there."

Sight-fishing gear: 7'1" medium-action G. Loomis NRX 852 spinning rod, Shimano Sustain 2500 spinning reel, 8-pound PowerPro braided line (main line), unnamed 8-pound fluorocarbon (leader), No. 1 Gamakatsu wacky-rig hook, Northland Impulse Dipstick or Jackall Flick Shake worm (green-pumpkin). Both worms had a 1/16-ounce nail weight inserted to keep one end nose-down on the bed.

Swimbait gear: Same rod, reel and line, 1/8-ounce Gamakatsu ball-head jig, Keitech 3.3 (electric shad).

Jerkbait gear: 6'10" medium-heavy G. Loomis Fiber-Blend Jerkbait rod, Shimano Chronarch Ci4+ casting reel, 8-pound PowerPro fluorocarbon, Jackall DowZVido (matte pearl white).

Main factor: "I wouldn't have had the tournament I had if I hadn't caught that big fish on the first day."

Performance edge: "With a lot of those fish getting pressure in shallow water, the Minn Kota Talons were a game-changer, for sure."

Hartwell Patterns 2-5 BassFan 3/25/16 (John Johnson)